Cancer—Does Taking Chemotherapy Display a Lack of Faith?

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Seek the guidance of the Great Physician, and make a wise decision with your family and doctor.

The bright orange fluid snaked down the IV tube toward the port in my arm.
Within seconds the Idarubacin would enter my body. Questions raced through my
mind. Would this chemotherapy be effective? Would its side effects kill me?
Would I see my children grow up? I tried to imagine that the chemo drug was
just Kool-Aid or Tang, but I knew better.

Nearly seven years have passed since I made the fateful decision to undergo
four grueling rounds of chemotherapy, and since September 2006, I have been
in remission. Strangely, although I didn’t want leukemia and certainly don’t
want it to return, I would never trade the experience. God tremendously blessed
me during my cancer battle, and He has given me opportunities to minister to
others in similar circumstances.

People have told me that juiced carrots or other natural remedies would have
cured my condition. I understand the sensitivity of this issue, and I am not
against trying these methods, but frankly, given my grave condition these “cures,”
by themselves, would have been the death of me. We know of no foods that would
stop the proliferation of mutated white blood cells that almost killed me.

Some Christians have even told me that taking chemotherapy demonstrates a lack
of faith. They seem to think that following a doctor’s advice, at least in this
case, is rejecting God’s ability to heal. Some have also objected to chemotherapy
because it necessarily kills both the good and bad cells. I have firsthand experience
with many awful effects of this toxic treatment, but I cannot see why we should
view chemotherapy in a different light than other medical treatments. Yes, chemo
kills good cells along with the bad, but so does amputation of a diseased limb
or replacement of a torn ACL. Why is chemotherapy viewed differently?

Ever since Adam sinned, man has had to deal with death and disease. Jesus spoke
approvingly of the role of doctors in curing the sick, using it to illustrate
His mission of saving sinners (Luke 5:31–32).

God can miraculously deliver a person (Mark 2:8–12), but He often uses people
and medicine to provide healing (Luke 10:33–35; 1 Timothy 5:23). Chemotherapy
may not be the best solution in every case, but it may sometimes be just what
God has arranged as a cure. So please take care not to increase a suffering
person’s burden with unsolicited advice.

Hopefully, you never face the decision to undergo chemo for cancer. But if
you do, don’t discount your doctor’s expertise. Inform yourself on all sides
of the issue, seek the guidance of the Great Physician, and make a wise decision
with your family and doctor (Proverbs 11:14).

Tim Chaffey holds a master of divinity degree in
apologetics and theology and a ThM in church
history and theology from Liberty Baptist Theological
Seminary. He is content manager for Answers in
Genesis’s Ark Encounter theme park.

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Answers in Genesis is an apologetics ministry, dedicated to helping Christians defend their faith and proclaim the gospel of Jesus Christ effectively. We focus on providing answers to questions about the Bible—particularly the book of Genesis—regarding key issues such as creation, evolution, science, and the age of the earth.